News in Brief: Feb. 21 to Feb. 27

The university released a statement Tuesday afternoon in support of prospective UCSB students peacefully protesting as part of the #NeverAgain movement. “We would never refuse admittance to prospective students for exercising [their rights to] freedom of expression and the right to engage peaceably,” the university said on Instagram. Following some high schools’ announcements that students participating in a nationwide walkout would be sanctioned, universities around the nation have released statements clarifying that disciplinary records generated from peaceful protest would not affect college admissions.

ISLA VISTA

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies also responded to a burglary on the 6700 block of Del Playa Drive early Saturday morning. The caller reported a person attempting to take “several pieces of high-end clothing and a MacBook” from the residence, but detained 23-year-old Lovens Laurore until deputies arrived. Laurore, who is currently being held in the Santa Barbara County Jail on $50,000 bail, had entered the home through an unlocked door, according to a county press release.

The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office reported another use of naloxone to save a 20-year-old Isla Vista resident from a prescription drug overdose early Tuesday morning. Several first responders from the Isla Vista Foot Patrol, UCPD, and other county personnel arrived within minutes, according to a county press release, and administered a dose of naloxone nasal spray. The victim was transported from the 6600 block of Abrego Road to a local hospital for further treatment.

COUNTY

Santa Barbara nonprofits have received over $500,000 in donations from the United Way for Thomas Fire as of last Thursday, according to a report in the Santa Barbara Independent. The nonprofits have aided nearly 20,000 survivors and evacuees since December. United Way has raised approximately $3.7 million for wildfire, mudslide, and displacement recovery efforts.

A winter storm is expected to move into the county on Thursday, bringing wet weather and winds. The National Weather Service estimated that gusts as high as 25 MPH could affect Goleta and Isla Vista, and the Weather Channel estimated that rain totals in the region on Thursday will near half an inch. The County Office of Emergency Management issued a pre-evacuation advisory Monday evening, stating that “flash floods, mud, and debris flows can happen with little to no warning.” Parts of Montecito, Carpinteria, and the foothills above Summerland are at risk for additional debris flow.

NATIONAL

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that immigrants can be detained indefinitely “without receiving bond hearings,” according to The Hill. This decision also applies to immigrants who hold permanent legal status or are seeking asylum in the United States. Critics say that immigrants should not be detained for more than six months at a time. Previously, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that detained immigrants should receive a bond hearing every six months, so long as “they aren’t considered a flight risk or a danger to national security.”

Juxtaposed with the Tuesday detainment ruling was the SCOTUS’s decision to send a lawsuit between the University of California and the Trump administration regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday. The UC released a statement in support of the decision. “As we argued to the Court, it was inappropriate for the Trump administration to short circuit standard appellate procedure and attempt to skip the U.S. Court of Appeals — a precipitous approach that echoes the government’s procedurally improper rescission of DACA at the heart of this case,” the statement read.